About colored pencil art

Drawing with colored pencils is a fine art.

The importance of lightfastness

I only use artist-grade colored pencils because of their lightfastness, a property that describes how resistant color is to fading when exposed to light. This way I make sure that my paintings can last many years without loosing their vibrancy.

A photorealistic style is achieved with colored pencils

Colored pencils allow me to work with great precision, detail and simulate depth by working with many layers. Using the combination of textures and effects in my colored pencil technique you'll see that each painting has a photorealistic style.

I also use special paper ( clairefontaine pastelmat and grafix drafting film) for the highest quality finish because pencils perform differently on different surfaces.

The best colored pencil brands

I work mostly with:

Faber-Castell Polychromos
Caran D'ache Luminance
Caran D'ache Pablo
Derwent Lightfast
Derwent Studio
Derwent Drawing
Holbein Artist Colored Pencils

I work with two main techniques in my art

I create portraits using two techniques. In some portraits I use purely colored pencils, and in others I mix colored and pastel pencils as well as pastel sticks.

Colored pencils

Colored pencils have either wax or oil based cores. They allow me to work with great precision and detail. This technique allows me to get depth by working with many layers to achieve the texture and effect I desire.

Pastels technique

This technique is a unique medium due to the vibrant colors and fine details I can achieve with soft pastels and pastel pencils.

Soft pastel sticks are pure pigment with water and and amount of binder that holds the pigment together. Since they contain a higher proportion of pigment, they can be smudged and blended to give a great number of tones and values. I use them mostly as a base layer and for backgrounds.

Pastel pencils allow me to perfect the painting with fine details.